Total film magazine research

The masthead of the magazine ‘Total Film’ is bright and very much contrasting to the usual design layout of a film magazine. The colours used are luminous and attractive which catches the audience’s attention immediately. The font size is large in the fact that it stands out from the page. The cover image goes over the front of the masthead which is a popular technique used in many magazines if they are well known enough for their readers to recognise their masthead.

The Cover line of the magazine ‘Total film’ is centred in the middle of the page, to draw the reader’s attention. Usually the cover line is situated n the left side third of the page yet it also works well with the technique used within this edition of ‘Total film magazine’. The size of the font used within the cover line is large and bold which allows it to stand out from the page. The colours used within the misenscene of the cover line are bright and eye catching using range of different shades and tones to portray the sci-fi genre of the tones to portray the sci-fi genre of the copy.

The puff of the magazine is presented within the magazine front cover to advertise the rest of its contents to the reader. The way in which it is presented suits the rest of the layout of the magazine, the colours used are subtle in terms of how bold and noticeable they are. The silver text boxes along with the bold text allow the puff to be noticed by the reader. The colour range used within the puff is quite plain in terms making it stand out. It may have benefited the magazine if the puff stood out in terms of the colours used, for example red or gold which resemble power and dominance. ‘Total Film’ advertises a number of puffs to get the reader interested in the contents of the magazine. The use of bold text and similar colours again used in the text fit the conventions of the design layout this again attracts the reader, yet it may have benefitted the magazine if they focused on advertising the cover image a bit more.

The barcode included within the magazine signifies that the magazine is legal which means that it is a product made to be sold to the public. If a magazine doesn’t include a bar code it either means that it cannot be sold publicly or it is an illegal copy made for readers to buy, usually for more money.

It is important that any magazine presents the date of the issue being sold as well as the issue number which in some cases is optional. This allows the magazine to advertise itself in other ways such as online. ‘Total film’ has included a website address where the reader can go on and research the magazine and its issues. Magazines that advertise using different forms of media are very much more successful then those that don’t.